Comic Books Go To War

What happens when the comic book meets real war?

Overview

Genre

Arts, Human Rights, Culture, Politics, and Current Affairs

Synopsis

The universe of comic books is a worldwide pop mythology, a Pantheon in cheap newsprint and saturated colors. For almost 100 years comic books have provided fantasy, escape, and compensation for adolescents who often feel powerless and misunderstood in their daily lives. Fantasies of power are inevitably violent, but the violence in comic books has no consequences. After all, it's just the stroke of a pen... But what happens when the comic book meets real war? In this age of hundreds of television stations, 24-hour news, worldwide instantaneous satellite transmission and thousands of web sites updated hourly, the lowly comic book has become a documentary medium, providing a real understanding of the human dimensions of war, genocide and revolution.

Treatment

The film examines how comic book writers and illustrators transpose tragic, violent stories into words and drawings. Images from television news shows, family videos, photos, and drawings are used to understand how these authors distort “reality” in order to better describe what is “real.” Also explored are the journalistic, aesthetic and political implications of reporting the most violent and terrible of human experiences through comic books. Keiji Nakazawa, Joe Sacco, Marjane Satrapi, Ted Rall, Emmanuel Guibert and Joe Kubert talk about their work, with supporting images.